


You're Welcome, or Whatever

by FlightOfInsanity



Series: Destiny 2 [11]
Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: Destiny 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 15:42:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12914997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlightOfInsanity/pseuds/FlightOfInsanity
Summary: Lox and Monday have a little bonding thanks to a Nessus adventure.





	You're Welcome, or Whatever

_I don't know what I'd do if... nevermind._

For what felt like the thousandth time, Monday's voice looped through Lox's head again. The Nessus day was bright and the architecture at her back was warmed from the sun and whatever Vex mechanisms ran just under the surface. A few stray goblins patrolled far below, either unaware or uncaring of the lone Guardian slouching on their construct.

_I don't know what I'd do if..._

She knew what had gone unsaid -  _if I lost my Guardian like you lost yours._  For Failsafe it had been her Captain, her crew, but for Monday it was her. Years now they'd been together and she'd never heard her ghost come close to saying anything like that. She didn't realize he truly cared so much about her.

Well. She supposed she sort of did. He'd always let her do what she wanted, what she thought might work best, and had never shown any sort of regret about choosing her. There was a difference between having the concern be an unspoken subtext and having it spoken aloud, aborted as it was.

How many times had they been in incredible danger? How many times had she flirted with true death? How many cursed objects had she tampered with, trying to wrest some edge over her enemies? None of those times had she detected the sort of fear and concern as that half a sentence did. It was always just a sarcastic remark or passive huff.

Absently, she ran a hand over her knee where the alien skull had always rested and whispered. She'd known it was a dangerous game to play, wearing those bones, but the advantages had always outweighed the costs. Monday had hated them, Mava had hated them, but she had adored them, whispers be damned. She missed the incredible agility they gave, almost missed the ever-present mumbling in the back of her mind. The void still sang its lonely song but the newfound quiet was strange.

A gentle nudging in her mind let her know Monday wanted something, maybe sensed her quiet distress, and she hummed a question at him.

"You alright?"

Half a shrug. She didn't know the answer to that or where to begin.

Monday appeared in a sparkle of transmat and hovered around in front of her. She still had her helmet on but knew he could look through the plasteel and filigree.

"I didn't think finding old skeletons would affect you this much." He twirled slowly, angles pointing slightly down - an apology.

"No, it wasn't... that."

Monday nudged at her mind again, trying to get her to talk and Lox looked down at her hands, suddenly very interested in the stitching of her glove.

Another gentle nudge and a flicker of concern. 

She sighed, knowing Monday wouldn't let up until she said something. "It was what, um... it was what you said. When we... About not knowing what you'd do if I..."

"Oh."

The snap of understanding from Monday was clear as day but the mess that came after before he muted himself was impossible to interpret. 

"I thought about everything we've done, everything I've done and all the shit I've gotten us into and all the  _mistakes_ and I just... I didn't..."

Lox trailed off and thumped her head back into the metal wall behind her and stared up at the bright, greenish sky. She briefly thought Lio might like it here. It was a bit like Venus, but with a bit more wildlife and a lot less rain.

"I didn't know you cared that much," she finally mumbled.

Now that it was out, she wished she could take it back. The longer Monday stayed quiet the more she contemplated finding a Vex portal to hurl herself into. Maybe if she did it enough times this entire day would come undone. 

"Of  _course_ I care. You may be reckless and irresponsible and have an unhealthy obsession with old bones but you're my Guardian. I've always done what I can to keep you safe and to help you and I always worry about you when we're in too deep."

Lox huffed. "I've never felt anything close to any of that before the cabal attack."

Monday huffed right back. "Because I know you're capable enough to survive when you're _conscious_." He got in front of her face again and she grabbed him out of the air, getting a mild indignant yelp. He did his best to look grumpy as he continued. "Do you remember that day on the Dreadnaught? When you got poisoned by that wizard and fell down into the ship? I was terrified. I thought that was it, that you were going to die and I wouldn't be able to do anything to help. Do you know how lucky it was that I'd gotten you a fireteam before that?"

" _You_ got?" She fixed him with a puzzled frown. "It was Ikora and Zavala that..."

Monday looked as much like a deer in the headlights as it was possible for a ghost to look.

"You sneaky little--"

He hissed static at her and tried to wiggle free before giving up and glowering at her from his prison in her hands. 

"It was for your own good and I knew you'd never pick up a team on your own so I... might have talked to Ikora without you knowing."

A snort of laughter escaped her before she could help herself and she let Monday go. He shook his tines like a bird ruffling feathers into place and gave her another glare for good measure. She should have been mad at him for sneaking around behind her back, for keeping secrets from her. She wanted to be upset with him and early enough in her and Mava's partnership, she might have been furious. Now though? She'd long since grown used to working with her team and she realized she was genuinely impressed at how sneaky her ghost had been.

“When did you even find the time to sneak around?"

He tsk'd indignantly at her. "You would be amazed how much tunnel vision you get in the Crucible. I sang an opera in your ears once and you didn't hear it. Messaging Ikora while you were distracted was child's play."

She rolled her eyes and looked away again, turning her gaze to the vex below. They were tiny to her from up on her perch. It was a strange thing seeing vex who weren't being murderous and trying to shoot at her. Weird, but peaceful.

"Thank you, I guess," she said to Monday without directing it at him. 

"You’re welcome, or whatever,” he said as he disappeared in a shower of sparkles, taking his usual place in her mind. 

"Now come on,  _Captain_. I think Failsafe has one more thing she wants help with."

Lox hauled herself to her feet and stretched languidly, debating whether to pick her way down or to just fall from the structure. "Whatever you say,  _Little Light_."


End file.
